Bronze Age warriors just as likely to drop dead from heart attack as 21st century couch potatoes

Marauding warriors stalked the land, infectious disease was an ever-present threat and growing enough food to live took hours of back-breaking labour.

And as if all that wasn’t enough to contend with, it seems people in the Bronze Age were just as likely to drop dead from a heart attack as 21st century couch potatoes, living off greasy takeaways.

About one in three had atherosclerosis – the narrowing and hardening of arteries that is the main cause of heart disease and strokes – a study of 137 mummified corpses up to 4,000 years old suggests.

‘A common assumption is that if modern humans could emulate pre-industrial lifestyles, atherosclerosis would be avoided,’ said Professor Randall Thompson of Saint Luke’s Mid-America Heart Institute in Kansas City, US.

The study looked at 137 mummified corpses up to 4,000 years old (Picture: PA)

‘But our findings seem to suggest it might be inherent to the process of human ageing.’

So, does the study – which included accidentally preserved bodies from around the world as well as wealthy, well-fed Egyptians – mean it’s time to chuck the diet and go back on the fags? No, says the British Heart Foundation.